Magpie Café — Restaurant in Sacramento

Excellent restaurant. I've delivered kegs here once or twice when I worked for a local alcohol company, and their kitchen area and food storage area is probably the cleanest I've seen. The menu rotates because they use a lot of local seasonal ingredients. They have struck a perfect balance between "nice" and "casual". You can dress up and take someone on a date, or you can grab lunch in your dirty cutoff shorts and stained t shirt (usually me). Pricing is slightly higher than average, but there are always several items on the menu in the $15 ballpark, which if you ask me is perfectly reasonable for any decent restaurant these days. The servers are always very friendly without being too pushy or annoying. They also seem to retain their employees for a long time, which to me is a sign of great management. I've been going to Magpie Cafe for about 6 years now, and I recognize quite a few people who've been working there for that entire time. The owners are kind and humble people who always greet you with a smile. I see a lot of reviews complaining about the price and the portion sizes, and the bread being too "hard". To those people, I'd direct them to Sizzler or Applebee's, or maybe just get some hot dogs and wonder bread and cry yourself to sleep while you watch Dr. Phil reruns. Magpie Cafe is a fantastic spot that has never ever let me down, and I highly recommend this place to anyone who likes a casual dining experience but above average food. Oh did I mention the nice outdoor seating? And the men's restroom has a changing table for all my fellow dads out there! I can't say enough nice things...

This has been our favorite restaurant for years. I’ve sent countless of people, both locals and visitors, to Magpie. Couldn’t recommend it enough.

Half of our party was late tonight and despite specific requests to sit and start our meal (we were on time) the hostess (older Asian woman) said “I prefer to sit everyone together” So despite making a reservation and showing up on time….

We waited 35 minutes to be seated and start our dinner. I was so hungry I was almost in tears. I was going to walk out but since our dinner included another couple, it was more complicated. Instead, we sat by the host table and stared at many EMPTY dinner tables that we could have sat at. Watching everyone enjoy dinner.

The only time I’ve encountered a host asking us to wait for someone was based on the fact that it was a Michelin star experience (net, performance!) to which was very important to be in-sync. Magpie is not that. The waitress would have had to repeat the two specials, had they let us start before the other couple. I hardly find that worth the risk.

Since they didn’t want my money for 35 minutes, again, despite us requesting to start, I will never spend my money here again.

Shame that the service is horrific, because the food is great. The chefs deserve more than...

Adore this place!!

We had our wedding reception dinner at Magpie in early May 2023, and they hit it out of the park. We did a full buy out of the restaurant so they owners came up with a specific menu for us and worked with us to think through the flow of the evening and the best set up for 50+ people in their space. They were a pleasure to work with from start to finish, warm and also quite professional and "on top of it."

Day of, they had the restaurant set up just as we had discussed (the restaurant looked great dressed up with some extra flowers), and the evening went super smoothly. They have a really awesome crew of staff who took great care of us (made sure my partner and I actually ate/had drinks amidst all the chaos) and executed the vision we had in mind. And the food! I can't say enough good things about the food. They really brought it, and folks were raving during the event and are still talking to us about how good it was.

I'd highly recommend Magpie for a special occasion/buy-out - they are great folks who are doing a great job with their food and the experience they provide. We'll be customers here for as long as...